Tall ship Roseway to make Savannah annual port of call

The Roseway, one of the tall ships that visited over the weekend as part of the Tall Ships Challenge, has chosen Savannah as a permanent port of call.

The Roseway is part of the World Ocean School, which in conjunction with The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, Wednesday announced its new home at The Westin Savannah Harbor Marina. The Roseway will maintain her winter and summer ports in St. Croix and Boston and will dock in Savannah for approximately six weeks in the transition periods that occur twice a year.

While in Savannah, the schooner will be available for its normal mission of instilling life skills and academic enrichment for youth and with the aid of The Westin will be made available for private events, with the rental revenue going to support student programming.

"I am thrilled to be able to help the World Ocean School reach children, especially the under-served youth in our community," said Westin general manager Mark Spadoni. "By donating the dock space and assisting in fundraising we hope that Roseway can create a lasting impact on the lives of our youth locally."

Dwight Deckelmann, captain of Roseway, said the ship and its related school aim to cultivate an expanded world view for the children they serve.

"It's amazing the lasting impact that even a few short hours can have on some of these kids," Deckelmann said. "We have gotten reports back from educators and parents crediting the experience in several pretty impactful areas."

Those areas, he said, include restoring the confidence of young people in themselves, others, and the global community, cultivating ideals they need if they are to thrive, setting high and clear expectations for learning and behavior and strengthening relationships with community, ideas and values.

Deckelmann said he and his crew instantly felt as if Savannah was a place they could call home.

"We have been looking forward to this visit for some time, and Savannah has been everything we hoped for and more," he said.

FIND OUT MORE

For additional information or to make a reservation for a school group, contact the World Ocean School at 207-236-7482 or visit them at WorldOceanSchool.org. For more information on private events contact The Westin at 912-201-2000.

ON THE WEB

Visit savannahnow.com/tallships to see more photos and video from the Tall Ships Challenge.